Calculated improvement

Frontiers July 2014 Issue

Calculated
improvement
Ordering only the right amount of material
needed to fabricate parts means a big
reduction in waste—and costs
By Patrick Summers
An employee team at Boeing
South Carolina that helps
fabricate parts made from large
sheets of composite material for the
interior of the 787 Dreamliner is showing
that simple steps to reduce waste and
adopt best practices can bring both
environmental and business benefits.
In this case, the simple solution was
an easy-to-use calculator that ensures
a precise amount of material is ordered
to manufacture a part.
“If we improve our accuracy at
the front end when we order material,
we streamline our operations and
38 Frontiers July 2014
Ordering the right amount of material
is a critical step in reducing waste and
cutting costs. Moser estimates in the past
two years the calculator has helped the
South Carolina site reduce the amount of
composite material ordered by 37 percent,
or 44,000 pounds (20,000 kilograms),
adding up to $1.1 million in avoided costs.
To help create this more efficient
process, Moser and his teammates
turned to the calculator, a best practice
first developed at the interior parts
fabrication facility in Everett, Wash.
“What we want to do is reflect
what’s consumed in the building of the
part, not the finished product,” said
Brett Price, the Everett manufacturing
engineer who designed the calculator.
“The calculator helps engineers order
the right amount of material.”
Use of the calculator earned the site
a 2014 Boeing Conservation Award,
given annually to projects that promote
efficiency, recycling and other resource
conservation efforts. It also supports
Build a Better Planet, Boeing’s strategy to
improve the environmental performance
of its operations and products.
Said Price: “Any reduction in waste is
definitely better for the environment.” n
patrick.a.summers@boeing.com
reduce the back-end waste that
otherwise would need extra handling
and special disposal,” said Matt
McCalley, environmental engineer
at the North Charleston site.
Before the calculator was part of
the process, the system used to order
raw material would designate a full
sheet of composite material for an
aircraft part that might only require
a fraction of that amount.
“The former process would
include leftover material and created
unneeded inventory,” said Greg Moser,
manufacturing engineer.
PHOTOS: (From left) Brett Price inspects
cuttings to a section of foam that’s part
of the fabrication process for composite
parts for the 787 Dreamliner in Everett,
Wash. GAIL HANUSA/BOEING At Boeing
South Carolina, Matt McCalley, left,
and Greg Moser inspect composite
material that will be used in fabricating
parts for the 787. ALAN MARTS/BOEING